A Healthy Caution

Solomon uses the imagery of a harlot and a young man to express the point that we should exercise healthy caution when we are confronted with new ideas and teachings that conflict with God's Word. As I read through Proverbs 7, I tried to see beyond the "what's wrong with this picture" story being told by Solomon, and came to that conclusion.

Here we have a young and foolish man who is lured by a harlot who used enticing words to cause the man to willingly sin. Three things stood out to me in this text that we can use to avoid being unwise and stick to the godly path of life.

1. Educate yourself with God's Word. There's no getting around this simple necessity. Once we've accepted the truth that God exists and that our souls will live on eternally, we need to read the Bible in order to understand the difference between what will bring us eternal life and what will bring us eternal death. Proverbs 7:1-3 says:

My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. 

Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. 

Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. 

2. Don’t become the prey. Many things that are sketchy and amiss are done under the cloak of darkness. Solomon shows the harlot lurking in the corners and catching the young man “in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.” (Proverbs 7: 9-13) We should be wary of flirting with danger. Sampling and wanting “just one taste” of activities and things that we know are wrong, will only fuel an internal thirst for more. We need to be able to say “no” to our flesh and be fulfilled by activities that are not sinful.

3. Know that dirty things can be packaged beautifully. Unfortunately, some sketchy things are done out in the open and we can’t use the secrecy of an activity as a clue that it’s wrong. In Proverbs 7:14, the harlot told the young man that she had peace offerings and paid vows. She shared this information in order to convince the man that she was safe and pure. We must use discernment that comes through wisdom to assess the true motives behind unfamiliar and questionable things. By going back to the basics of what God's Word says we can use wisdom to see the true nature of teachings, ideas, and people, and be able to ignore the popularity and persuasiveness of truly unwise things.

God’s Word is our gauge for what is true and right. Let us immerse ourselves in the knowledge and wisdom it offers.